Heather's Great Wall Diary - 10th to 17th May 2008
Monday 12th May
Black Dragon Pools National Park in Beijing County . This was not on the wall but in the jungle for us to have a warm up day and for the guides to assess our fitness levels. Our fitness levels were certainly tested as we ended up trekking 65km in the day! This was an extremely good way for the group to bond, an excellent way to get over jet lag and to warm up our muscles!
Tuesday 13th May
We started on the ruined parts of the wall at Gubeiko Gateway. The wall is a stunning piece of architecture set in the most amazing scenery. For the next 3 days we trekked away from tourist areas, which is something that can only be done if you are with a guide. When we came off the wall we walked along the Yong Jun Lu country road past Wu Li Tuo village.
Wednesday 14th May
We walked between watchtowers 1-11 on the Simatai section of the wall, with Mongolia situated to the left-hand side. We went to Si Ma Tai village in the Heibei Province (where we met the village elder complete with red arm band and drank a lot of jasmine tea). At the end of the day we went on a zipwire that took us across a lake onto a platform where a boat took us to the lodge we were staying at - a very exciting end to the day.
Thursday 15th May
We covered a total of 23 watchtowers on the Jinshanling section of the wall, this section was constructed in 1403. It was one of the Group's birthday and so we celebrated with some wine and a huge cake, then we all tried karaoke much to the amusement of the locals.
Friday 16th May
The last day trekking; 1000m up to the start of the Mutianyu section of the wall, this is the well-preserved/restored part of the wall with lego-like watchtowers where foreign dignitaries are taken to. We walked up the Heavenly Staircase for the medal presentation; it was at this point that I got quite emotional remembering the people I know who have been helped by the amazing staff at Iain Rennie. We then walked back half way and caught a cable car down to a market where much bartering took place for souvenirs.
In the evening we went to Beijing and had a tour of the night market, Tiananmen Square by night and then had a reflexology foot massage - bliss!
Saturday 17th May
We had a tour of Beijing seeing Temple of Heaven, Tiananmen Square by day, Forbidden City (Imperial Palace), tea house, shopping and then at the end of the day went for a Peking Duck dinner.
It's not called a Challenge for nothing! I came back lighter, tired, emotional but with no blisters and with a great sense of achievement - I would recommend doing a Challenge to anyone. The group has all kept in contact since our return and I have made friends I will keep for life.
22nd July 2008
